Belt-shifter.



No. 825,265. PATENTED JULY 3, 1906.

' W. E. DILLARD.

BELT SHIFTER.-

APPLIGATION FILED PEB.20.1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

JJL

Inventbn Attorneys m: uonms PITIRS ca, WASMINGYON,-D. 1:.

PATENTED JULY 3, 1906.

W. E; DILLARD. BELT SHIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.20, 1905.

2 sums-sash? 2.

W 1253 d, Inventons e s s e D WALTER E. .DILLARD, OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.

' BELT-SHIFTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1906.,

Application filed February 20, 1905. Serial No; 246.564.

1'0 (ML whom, it Duty concern.-

Be it known that I, l/VALTER E. DILLARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Petersburg, in the county of Dinwiddie and State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful Belt-Shifter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to belt -shifting mechanism, and has for its principal object to provide a shifting and starting mechanism that will dispense with the usual loose pulley and avoid all unnecessary wear on the belt.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which the starting may be accomplished without friction or undue strain on the driving-belt and a further and important object of the invention is to provide means whereby a dead belt may be started into motion in advance of its shifting to a tight pulley, so that the starting may be accomplished With little or no strain, thus reducing the wear and jar on the ma- 1ghlinery as well as lengthening the life of the lVith these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, theinvention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a belt-shifting mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the belt-shifting mechanism.- Fig. 4 is a plan view of the belt-shifting mechanism.

Similar characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the present invention the fast pulley A is secured to a line-shaft B, and at a point to one side of the pulley is arranged a second smaller pulley or belt-wheel 10, also tight on the shaft. In some cases this second pulley will not be necessary, especially where the lineshaft is of large diameter and the driving-pulley A of comparatively small diameter. Secured to the ceiling or other suitable point is a frame 12, that is provided with a suitable-opening for the passage of the shaft,

the opening being of sufficient diameter to avoid frictional wear. This frame is provided with a plurality of radially-disposed slots 13, through which extend studs 14, having securingqi'uts by which they may be locked in adjusted position, and on each of the studs is arranged a small roller 15, of which the end rollers 15 may be provided with annular flanges 16. The construction is such that the frames may be made of a standard size, the radial slots permitting adjustment of the studs in order to employ the shifting mechanism in connection with pulleys of different size.

Secured to the fixed frame is an eccentric 17, that is also provided with an opening for the passage of the shaft, the latter passing freely through said opening, and on the eccentric is mounted an eccentric-strap 18. From the strap 18 extends an arm 19, that is provided with an elongated slot 20, extending in a direction radially from the center of the eccentric 17. Adjustably secured in this slot is a stud 21 which extends loosely through a slot 23, that is formed in an arcuate line concentric with the center of the cocentric 17 The stud supports a belt-tightening pulley 24, and said pulley maybe moved from the dotted-line position to the full-line position shown in Fig. 1 by a downward pull on a cord or chain 25 or any suitable means for transmitting movement to the lever 19.

Around the several pulleys passes a belt 26, that preferably is of a width at least equal to the width of the belt to be shifted, and under normal conditions this belt is loose on the pulleys or rollers, assuming the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 1, so that when the driving-belt is transferred it will form a simple yieldable cushion on which the driving belt may rest without injury.

When the driving-belt is to be transferred to. the tight pulley, the lever 19 is moved upward and the belt 26 is tightened, a portion of the length being brought into contact with the smaller pulley 10 or with the periphery of the shaft, as the case may be, whereupon movement is imparted from the line-shaft to the belt 26, and this movement is gradually imparted to the driving-belt, so that the latter is set into motion in advance of its transfer to the pulley A. It will be seen that when the lever 19 is pulled down the eccentric is lowered and the belt 26 is then moved away from the beltwheel 10, so that dles carry antifriction-rollers 31, arranged to engage with the .face of-the belt, and for this I purpose the outer end .of each spindle is convenient reach of the operator.

nected to a suitably-guided cord or chain 32, the lower end of which is arranged within con- When the belt is in motion, one or other of the cords or chains 32 is operated and the correspondin spindle is raised until the roller 31, carried thereby, engages the face of the belt, and as said roller is disposed obliquely to the length of the belt the latter will be gradually-moved found that by gradually in a lateral direction .and shifted from the belt-rest to the fast pulley, or vice versa. There is no wear then on the edge of the belt such as occurs with ordinary shifting-forks which engage only with the edge of the belt. In the present instance the shifting might be accomplished by a simple direct vertical movement of the roller as a whole, but it is altering the angular position of the roller with respect to the horizontal that the belt will ride off more readily to the point where itis to be shifted; but it is only after the belt has been completely moved that theroller engages with the edge of said belt, as will be apparent on reference to Fig. 3. When the o erator releases the cord or chain 82, the shi ting-roller will move by gravity to a position out of contact with the belt, thus avoiding unnecessary wear.

It is obvious that the eccentric 17 is not essential in all cases, but its use is deemed advisable, owing to the greater surface of the belt which may be guided into contact with the periphery of the lower pulley throu h which motion is transmitted to said be t. The eccentric causes belt-carrying pulley 24 to move upward in a curved path which gradually approaches the periphery of the small driving-pulley 10, and thus tightens the belt around a greater portion of the periphery of said pulley than would be the case if the pulley 24 moved in a path concentric with the periphery of the pulley 10. Furthermore, on the downward movement of the eccentric the belt is lowered away from the periphery of the pulley 10 to a greater distance than would be possible if said pulley 24 traveled in a path concentric with the periphery of the pulley 10. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a device of the class specified, a shaft, a pulley and a belt-wheel mounted thereon, a supporting-belt arranged for the reception of a driving-belt, a plurality of idlers around which the supporting-belt passes, and means for forcing the belt into engagement with the pulley whereby movement from the latter is transmitted to the supporting-belt, and from thence to the driving-belt.

2. In a device of the class specified, the combination with a frame, of a plurality of rollers carried thereby, a line-shaft including a driving member, an eccentric, an eccentricstrap surrounding the same, a lever on the strap, a tightening-roller carried by the lever, and a belt passing around the several rollers and driving member.

3. In a device of the class specified, the combination with a frame, of a series of rollers supported thereby, one or more of said rollers being flanged, a line-shaft, a drivingpulley on the line-shaft, a belt extending loosely around the driving-pulley and the rollers, an eccentric, an eccentric-strap surrounding the same, a lever connected to the eccentric-stra and a belt-tightening roller carried by sai lever.

4. In a device of the class specified, the combination with a frame having a plurality of radial slots, of rollers having studs adjustable in said slots, a driving-pulley, an cecentric, an eccentric-strap, a lever mounted on the eccentric-strap and having a longitudinally-arranged slot, the frame being provided with an arcuate slot struck from the center of the eccentric, a stud extending through the two slots, a belt-tightening pulley on said stud, and a belt surrounding the pulleys and rollers.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WALTER E. DILLARD.

Witnesses:

HARRY WILLIAMS, RoBT. L. LEDFORD. 

